Jaipur ICU blaze: Hospital staff ignored early warnings, say patients' kin

JAIPUR: The acrid smell of burnt chemicals and equipment hung heavy in the air at Jaipur’s SMS Hospital on Monday, as family members of those who died in the tragedy lingered outside the mortuary to collect the remains of their loved ones.

Fighting back tears, traumatised witnesses and relatives described the horrific scenes of chaos and recounted how helpless they had felt as the fire ravaged through the ICU, scalding their lives too.

Bharatpur-based Sheru, whose desperate attempt to save his mother, Rukmani Kaur (45), failed, said: “Around 11.20 pm, I noticed smoke billowing out of the ceiling and informed a nurse. She, however, dismissed my fear, saying a machine had probably overheated.”

“In 20 minutes, thick smoke filled the area, leaving me blinded and unable to reach my mother’s bed. The doctors had said my mother was recovering quickly and could be discharged within a couple of days. Now that she is dead, whom should I hold responsible?” asked Sheru.

Vikram Gurjar lost his brother, Pintu Gurjar (35), to the blaze . “We were waiting to take him home after doctors said he would be released in a day or two. Now we’re taking his body back,” he said.

Narendra Kumar, whose mother Khushma (45) died in the fire, expressed anger and frustration at the lack of a proper emergency response. “My father called me at 11.45 pm to inform me about the fire. When I reached the ICU, the situation was chaotic. People were piling out of the trauma centre, with some of them pushing ICU beds with patients still hooked to IV drips and monitors. We couldn’t rescue my mother due to the intensity of the blaze,” he said.

Om Prakash, whose son was hospitalised with a head injury, recalled seeing staff pushing and shoving patients out onto the road in complete panic. “This was not just negligence but a systemic failure”, he said. Patients’ relatives accused hospital staff of inaction despite patients’ kin flagging the smoke.